September 27, 2017

Illuminate: Part 2

Issue No. 369 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting features a case study on Chick-fil-A’s venture into an innovation center—and a conversation with Doug Martinez and Jason Pearson on breaking stuff! And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and read recent book reviews on this blog page. Plus, what’s the Bible Incubator? Visit the webpage from CrossSection.Break Stuff and Get Messy!

The authors say that movements follow a story structure with five actions: • Dream(the moment of inspiration) • Leap(the moment of decision) • Fight(the moment of bravery) • Climb (the moment of endurance) • Arrive(the moment of reflection)

The case studies (and mini-stories) are stunning. So I’ve asked Doug Martinez and Jason Pearson at CrossSection to have a conversation with me on these five transformational phases for effective movements.

Jason: But with messy, you get innovation, right? Chick-fil-A leaders had always inspired a “culture of continual improvement,” but not necessarily innovation, according to Illuminate. Imagine this: their first mall restaurant opened in 1967, but by the mid-1980s they anticipated the decline of malls—and moved out. (That was foresight, right Macy’s?)

Doug: Right, but the company had this “don’t mess it up” culture—and risk and failure were avoided at all costs. (We know organizations like this—and it’s not pretty.) So I was impressed that in 2008, Chick-fil-A leaders traveled the country to visit leading innovation centers like Lucasfilm, Pixar, Google, Stanford d.school, and Hewlett-Packard.

Jason: Great book! But…back to Chick-fil-A…and as Doug mentioned, their travels convinced them to build a large innovation center. And get this great name—Hatch.

John:I love it. Let me quote from Illuminate:

“Leadership needed to convey to employees that it’s okay to try new things at Hatch. Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, the VP of design and construction stood on a lift fifteen feet in the air and dropped three paint-filled eggshells onto the floor. The ceremonial act was a dramatic statement that Hatch was a different work environment, where people could, and should, be breaking things, taking risks, and getting messy in the pursuit of innovation.”

Jason: And it gets better—even though their corporate culture salutes suits and ties, Hatch is messy. And so after the speeches that first day, “more than 250 staff members threw paint-filled eggs onto canvases, which now hang in the reception lobby as art pieces.”

Doug: Brilliant—and the physical act of breaking something created a powerful moment and memory.

John: But you don’t need to dedicate a new building for innovation—just to get “messy,” right?

Doug: Exactly. It’s a mindset. It’s a culture. It’s a fork-in-the-road leadership decision about the safe way—or the innovative way. At CrossSection, we’ve helped clients innovate—and it’s powerful (and risky). But remember what Peter Drucker said: "People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year."

Jason:Preach it! I appreciate a comment in this Illuminate case study from Steve Nedvidek, who is Hatch’s innovation specialist. He said, “The executive committee, especially Dan Cathy, had our backs. Executive commitment took the fear of failure away.”

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions: 1) The Illuminate authors note that innovation, in reality, was started with Chick-fil-A’s first restaurant in 1946. “Truett [Cathy]’s innovation lab was his first restaurant.” So where is your organization’s innovation lab?2) Where is your organization today: Dream, Leap, Fight, Climb, or Arrive? To ignite change, should you be using speeches, stories, ceremonies, or symbols? What team should read Illuminate this week?

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New Buckets Workbook! Insights from the newMastering the Management Buckets Workbook

With 228 pages, in a helpful workbook format, this new resource includes worksheets for each of the 20 management buckets (core competencies), plus an appendix with more than 400 leadership and management books and resources, all categorized within the 20 buckets. It’s perfect for a team to study together, but also works for individual study.

Some leaders and managers are working through the 20 buckets in 20 days, 20 weeks, 20 months, or 20 years (if you’re young enough!)

The workbook includes new material, not previously offered in the two-day Management Buckets workshop. Example: read the commentary by Doug Martinez on The Results Bucket and learn why Fred Smith, Sr. quoted a friend on the difference between activity and results, who said, “Please show me the baby and don’t tell me about the labor pains.”

Your Weekly Staff Meeting is emailed free one to three times a month to subscribers, the frequency of which is based on an algorithm of book length, frequent flyer miles, and client deadlines. We do not accept any form of compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews. As a board member and raving fan of Christian Community Credit Union (a non-profit), we proudly list the credit union as a sponsor at no charge. And...in this issue we also salute Bible Incubator, an initiative of CrossSection.